TESTALONGA
Dolceacqua 2021
Liguria, Italy
From vines of Rossese up to one hundred years old planted over clay and limestone high in the hills above Dolceacqua. The grapes are trodden by foot, fermented as whole bunches for a fortnight and pressed slowly before a year of rest in old casks, just as they always have been. From a cooler vintage, as ever this feels resolutely Mediterranean, pairing sunkissed fruit with a lifted, herbaceous note which calls to mind the garrigue that lines these hills, and a brightness that speaks of sunshine and limestone. A wine of impeccable balance, history suggests it will reward drinkers for decades to come.
Rossese
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Antonio Perrino is from Dolceacqua, a quiet, pretty little town in the Ligurian foothills, just a few miles from the seaside holiday towns of the Mediterranean.
Nino has just a few hectares of vines and ancient olive groves which he farms organically on steep terraces planted over clay and limestone high up in the hills. The oldest vines are over a 100 years of age, the oldest trees over 1000. It is a truly magical place, heady with herbs and with views all the way to Corsica on a clear day.
The wines are made in his garage in the town centre, the smallest winemaking setup we have seen. His tools consist of a couple of old barrels and a vertical press. Production is carried out in the same fashion it was when Nino began making wines here with his father some fifty years ago and the wines, fittingly, taste as if they were from another age.